Acquaintance With God

"Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto thee"  (Job 22:21, KJV). 

The ESV says "agree with him" and the NIV says to "submit to him."  There is always difficulty in finding common ground or commonality, and agreeing on everything or every issue; we are not always on the same page or in sync--the more issues, the less likely the unity of everything. But what is vital is an understanding that you can walk hand-in-hand without necessarily seeing eye-to-eye on all the issues.  Amos 3:3 asks "how two can walk together unless they are agreed."  Even spouses don't always agree, especially after the honeymoon is over, much less two casual friends or acquaintances.  

Fellowship is when two fellows are "in the same ship" so to speak and have harmony, communication, and get along. But sometimes we go out on a limb and venture into new territory or another unfamiliar turf that is risky. If two agree on everything, one of them is not necessary and they cannot sharpen each other's wits.  "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend" (Proverbs 27:17, KJV).

The better acquainted we know someone and their stands, the better prospect of friendship and mutual edification and support, once we find out we need each other and have different strengths or gifts to share.  Jesus said that if we are not for Him we are against Him and He who does not gather scatters!  There does come a moment of truth and a defining moment in our lives when we find out the truth about ourselves and what kind of person we are.

There has to be friction, adversity, or trial of some kind to do this--it's no bed of roses traveling this spiritual journey and Christ didn't exempt Himself from the common sufferings of mankind, but at least He was honest enough to tell us we would have friction or bumps along the road less traveled.  We cannot say to our friends that if they don't agree with us they are our enemies like Jesus can--we are not infallible!

Sometimes arguments generate more heat than light and are not worth the adrenaline   and we need to choose our fights wisely; sometimes there is nothing to be gained but pride!  We need to leave room for a charitable relationship and matters of a questionable or doubtful answer. As Augustine said in his famous dictum: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  

Let's remember the admonition to agree without being disagreeable, and to agree to disagree (but keep an open mind because you could be wrong). Unless you admit you could be wrong, you'll never arrive at the truth.  There is no room for neutral territory in the Christian life--we must take stands and show our Christian colors (faith is not believing in spite of the evidence, but despite the consequences).  If we refuse to listen to the evidence because we have our minds made up, we will never arrive at the truth or know Him who is the Truth with a capital T.   Soli Deo Gloria!